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Consensus Planning Successes & Failures

Consensus Planning Successes & Failures. Planning and Conservation League Symposium How to Find Common Ground January 30, 2010 Carol W. Witham. www.vernalpools.org. New partnerships a Central Valley success story. www.vernalpools.org.

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Consensus Planning Successes & Failures

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  1. Consensus Planning Successes & Failures Planning and Conservation League SymposiumHow to Find Common GroundJanuary 30, 2010Carol W. Witham www.vernalpools.org

  2. New partnershipsa Central Valley success story www.vernalpools.org

  3. Dissatisfaction with the status quoConservation is hard work… • CESHA grew out of a need to share resources and ideals, as well as the work of preserving species and habitat • national, state and local environmental groups • Quarterly meetings with the California/Nevada Operations Manager of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service • mutual gripe sessions • A challenge to find one issue that the environmental organizations and the Service could work together on in a proactive way • Service staff came up with 30 priority issues www.vernalpools.org

  4. Central Valley Grasslandsan ecosystem in peril… • Escalating urbanization of the Central Valley • Vernal pool grasslands are being targeted for this growth. • Most of these lands are in private ownership • Difficult to recreate all functions www.vernalpools.org

  5. California Rangeland ResolutionNew partnerships for habitat preservation… • USFWS shared our white paper on Central Valley grasslands with leaders in the Cattlemen’s Association • Development of The California Rangeland Resolution • Keeping common species common on private lands • Working to recover imperiled species and enhancing habitats • Increase funding and assistance to expand beneficial stewardship • Encourage voluntary and collaborative conservation • Establishment of the California Rangeland Conservation Coalition and working groups to set short and long range goals to achieve Central Valley grassland conservation www.vernalpools.org

  6. Quid pro quo…CESHA asks for payback… • Two projects impacting thousands of acres of vernal pool grasslands • University of California, Merced • Originally planned to be a new town the size of Berkeley • In the middle of the largest remaining tract of undisturbed vernal pool grassland • Sunrise-Douglas Community Planning Area • Over 6000 acres of vernal pool grasslands • The “Yellowstone” of Sacramento County vernal pools www.vernalpools.org

  7. History of the 10th UC campusand how it ended up in Merced • 1988 UC Regents initiated planning for a new campus • Focused on the San Joaquin Valley • 85 initial sites • 20 candidate sites • 8 preferred sites • 3 finalist sites • No one has been able to reproduce the site selection process • 1995 UC Regents selected the Lake Yosemite site in Merced County as their preferred location www.vernalpools.org

  8. Project put on fast-track in 2000and serious environmental concerns were raised • UC officials initially claim the campus a done deal • Governor Gray Davis allocates $30 million for conservation easements to serve as mitigation • Conservation organizations and many UC faculty are enraged by the environmental consequences of the campus • Regulators warn that the proposed location could not be permitted • The campus and community are moved a bit south • Packard Foundation puts up $11 million to buy the land from the trusts and purchase an adjacent parcel www.vernalpools.org

  9. UC Merced opens in 2005on what was once a golf course… www.vernalpools.org

  10. Talks also began in 2005between UCM and conservation NGOs • 1st meeting arranged by US Fish & Wildlife Service • The first year and a half of meetings were fruitless • June 2006 the US Army Corps of Engineers released and then retracted a draft EIS • Corps staff publicly stated that the campus could not be permitted as proposed • UCM began to take the environmental community more seriously • We began working together on a Conservation Strategy for the entire eastern Merced County region www.vernalpools.org

  11. 2007 brings another draft EISbut this one was never released • UC Merced officials decide that it is time cut a deal with the regulators and the environmental community • UCM, NGOs and the regulatory agencies reached a consensus on a reduced footprint that also shifted the campus further south • UCM and NGOs also reached an agreement about how we would work together to achieve certain specific conservation goals on and around the new campus • November 2008 a new draft EIS/EIR was released fora 60 day public comment period www.vernalpools.org

  12. New footprint conservation benefitsfor species and habitat • 721 acres of pristine vernal pool grasslands avoided and protected in perpetuity • 120 wetted acres of vernal pools, swales and clay playas • 2 breeding pools for California Tiger Salamander • 8 pools supporting Midvalley Fairy Shrimp • 104 pools supporting Vernal Pool Fairy Shrimp • 70 pools supporting Succulent Owl’s Clover www.vernalpools.org

  13. Other benefitsresulting directly or indirectly • 32,000 acres of vernal pool grasslands have been placed under conservation easement in Merced County • Eastern Merced County has a strong conservation strategy that can be used to guide future projects • UCM and NGOs continue to work together • UCM has set a new standard for clarity and readability of their environmental documents • Other large projects are contacting the environmental community early in their projects www.vernalpools.org

  14. Sunrise-Douglas Planning Areaa brief history… • Failed negotiations 2002-2004 • Regulators and project proponents • 2004 Conceptual Conservation Strategy • Initiated by Congressman Doug Ose • Regulators and project proponents • Presented to NGOs as a fait accompli • No NEPA analysis of Conceptual Strategy • USACE began issuing permits in late 2004 www.vernalpools.org

  15. Sunrise-Douglas Planning Areaa success, but not by consensus… • 1st meeting initiated by USFWS • There was no second meeting • NEPA/ESA lawsuit filed June 2006 • Preliminary injunction issued July 2007 • Several settlement meetings failed • USACE withdrew permits to do new NEPA analysis • CEQA lawsuit filed May 2007 • Lower court ruled for petitioners in June 2007 • (Mostly) upheld on appeal www.vernalpools.org

  16. Take home messagesit is good to have a carrot and a stick… www.vernalpools.org

  17. Questions and comments? Carol W. Witham 1141 37th StreetSacramento, CA 95816(916) 452-5440 cwitham@ncal.net www.vernalpools.org

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